Saving Tony Stark
by VampyrusRed14l
Summary: Our great heroes can battle any foe; war lords, Hydra, Aliens, but how do they do against illness? When one of them gets sick, it's up to the others to find out what is killing their friend, and how to cure him. For what will the world be without Iron Man! {I own nothing of the Avengers, just a fan:) All Avengers will be included, we may see some Shield agents, other characters. }
1. Chapter 1

**_What would you do to save the one you love? To save your best friend? To save your comrade whom you have battled against the heavens with? _****_Nothing they try seems to help their ailing comrade, and friend. _****_How are they going to save him? How will they discover and then cure this illness? Will our heroes once again save the day? Read more to find out. Set after Iron Man 3 and before Avengers Age of Ultron._**

BANG! The sound of metal on concrete wall was loud to anyone with natural hearing. With his ears still ringing, Iron Man stood up from where he fell to the floor from Hulk's throw. He took a minute to catch his breath. He looked up and saw Hulk give Cap a high five. He looked to his left and saw Rhody make a mark under the words 'Team Cap'; making the score 5-4.

"Hey! Ah. I thought this was supposed to be a new training exercise, not a competition?" He grunted.

"It was your idea, Tony." Rhody explained.

"When did I pitch that?" Tony asked, waving his iron arm in a questioning manner.

"Uh Jarvis?" Clint asked the open air.

"Colonel Rhodes is correct, sir. You asked for someone to keep score."

"I don't recall ever saying that."

"Would you like me to replay the recording, sir?" Jarvis asked. Even a A.I could sound a little sarcastic at this point.

"Uh, no thanks, Jarvis. Way to take my side, _buddy_." Without realizing it, that was meant for both Jarvis and Rhody.

"Ok boys, if you can't play nicely I'll have to ground you all."

"Hahaha." Clint chimed in.

"Damn." Steve said amused.

"Oh, Steve said a bad word." Tony remarked. The others laughed until a car was thrown at Tony and he went flying towards the wall again. The Hulk looked at him and laughed. The others continued to laugh as well.

"Hey, our take out is here, time to eat." Natasha called out.

"Yes, sustenance!" Thor bellowed. He used Mjolnir to fly up to the balcony to be the first to the food. Then the hulk tried to go but Natasha walked in front of him and caught his attention.

"Hang on big guy, suns gettin' real low." She started to calm Bruce down. It didn't take long, and soon they were on their way out of the arena.

"Not really that hungry." Tony said. Steve looked at Tony.

"One more round?" Pepper looked at Tony as if to say 'come on Tony that's enough'. But, when does he really ever listen to Pepper?

"You're on." He said. His face plate closed, the suit lit up and he stood battle ready. Cap got ready, putting his shield up. The others stood on the balcony to watch. The two leaders started running towards each other. It would take a few seconds since they were on opposite sides of the arena and the arena was fairly large.

As they were running, all of sudden, Tony noticed the room starting to spin. He became nauseous, and dizzy. He started breathing heavily. He started to feel exhaustion, sluggishness, and ringing in his ears all at once. He was trying to keep himself in flight but failed. He was going to call out to Cap to tell him to wait, that something was wrong, but it was too late. Cap's shield and fist came crashing down on Tony as he looked up. Tony was pushed back with so much force and strength he flew back and hit the same wall again. This time he slumped against it and didn't move.

Cap landed on the ground smiling. He beat Iron Man, the great Tony Stark. Of course it was just a bit of fun. He looked up and saw that Tony wasn't moving. But that wasn't what scared him and the others. The light on his arc reactor was off.

"Tony?" Steve called, while slowly moving towards him. No movement. Pepper was already halfway down the stairs. She was glad she was wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and one of Tony's T-Shirts. After Tony still didn't respond to their calls Steve and Pepper ran towards Tony, the others a few steps behind.

"Tony!" Pepper called. Once they reached Tony, Steve tried to get the face plate off with no success. Then he remembered that Jarvis could get it off.

"Jarvis. Can you open the suit? Get Tony out?" He asked worriedly.

"I'm sorry, sir. The Iron Man suit is offline. I cannot open it."

"Is there a manual override?" He asked again.

"Yes, sir. Just behind the neck, near the left shoulder." Jarvis answered. Steve proceeded to get the suit open. He and the others got Tony out and onto the floor. Pepper put Tony's head in her lap. He was unconscious. His breathing was ragged, his skin pale.

"Tony! Tony, can you hear me? Tony!"

"Stark!"

"Tony say something! Come on open your eyes!" '_Pepper? That's __Peppers voice. Man, I'm so tired, I just want to go back to sleep.' He felt very stiff, he was on top of something very hard and cold. It definitely wasn't his bed. 'Why aren't I in my bed? Wait! When did I go to bed? Weren't we about to go eat dinner? Hold on a second, did I just get beat by a grown man wearing star spangled spandex?!._'

"Tony!" _'There's Pepper again. She sounds so close, why can't I reach her? _'

"Tony open your eyes!"_ 'Wait, that was Steve this time. Wait, open your eyes? My eyes are closed? What is going on?' _Tony's head started to shift a little. His eyes opened just a centimeter, he could make out a few silhouettes, but he didn't know who he was looking at or why he was looking _up_ at them. He felt exhaustion hit harder than Thor's hammer. He attempted to resist the pull of sleep, but failed. His eyes closed and the last thing he heard, were his friends calling out his name.

**_Hey guys, so I got a little inspiration from watching Endgame, he doesn't get sick like he did in the movie, but you will find out in the next chapter or two. I don't know which. Chapter 2 will come as soon as I can get it done, this is my first real Avengers fanfic. Hope you enjoy, and as always if you think there is something I could have done better let me know, I welcome it. I want to make my stories really great! Thanks for reading!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_2 WEEKS EARLIER_**

"Alright Jarvis, give me a sweep of the compound." Tony instructed while standing on a a rooftop, 83.25 yards away. It took a moment to scan the large structure.

The structure was in the middle of nowhere. It had its own satellite sitting on top of the large building that sat in the middle of a clearing. Surrounding it were several concrete slabs that came to Caps waist.

"How long is this gonna take?" An impatient Hawkeye whispered, perched in a nearby tree.

"Patience, young padawan." Tony replies. Hawkeye looks at Nat.

"Did he just...?" Hawkeye whispers to her. She just shrugs, but she smiles when he turns away.

"Guys we need to focus. Tony, is Jarvis finished with that scan yet?" Captain America spoke in a stern manner. Tony replied almost immediately.

"Alright, Jarvis, how does it look?"

"I have detected several hundred signatures that match those of Chitauri technology, sir."

"Jarvis, hack into their computer systems and download all the files. They've gotta be selling this stuff on the black market. We're gonna need that client list."

Suddenly, blasts of energy exploded near Tony and the others. It took all of them by surprise. Cap flew into the air and landed on his side a few meters away. Nat and Hawkeye were blown out of the tree; Hawkeye shot his grappler and safely landed Nat and himself. Within seconds they were firing back.

Thor simply got knocked off of his feet, stood right back up and threw his hammer. Bruce watched from the newly made Quinjet, unwantingly waiting for the _green_ light he hoped they'd never give.

Tony almost fell 4 stories when they blew the roof he was on. Boy was he glad for his suit. 'Hey it technically is a body guard.' He thought to himself for a moment. Several more blasts zoomed past his head. 'Alright, moment's gone.' He flew into the air and out of the range of their weapons. Or so he thought.

Tony watched the battle below him and sent off a few rockets and missiles towards the dozens of men firing the alien tech. Simultaneously, he was trying to scout them out, but out of nowhere a giant ball of purple, black and blue energy came blazing towards him. The first few seconds of it was gas-like and went straight through his armour. The second wave was pure energy and it completly knocked out his systems.

"Jarvis, emergency power! JARVIS?!" Thankfully Tony wasn't at a seriously high altitude. But the fall into the compound was not painless. He fell through metal, wood, sheet rock, brick, instalation, more wood, more metal and finally crash landed into some wooden crates.

"Tony's down! Somebody get over there!" Steve called out.

"I'm on it!" Clint said, and used his grappler to get to Tony's location. Mat rushed over to take cover behind one of the concrete slabs near Steve.

"Guys! What's happening? Is this a _green _light?" Bruce asked. No one answered right away. But, he heard Nat's voice and calmed a little bit.

"They ambushed us! There's too many of them." Nat said.

"Bruce, you've got a green light!" Bruce shook his head in the Quinjet. He took a deep breath.

"Here we go." He muttered to himself.

Steve and Nat took cover behind a buidling several feet thick with brick and cement. At least they had a few seconds to breathe. Without warning a big green blur came in and slammed into one of the enemy trucks.

"This had to be a set up." Bat suggested to Steve after she fired several shots.

"We gotta find that informant. He's gotta be working with H.Y.D.R.A."

"You think this is H.Y.D.R.A? They would've been way more discreet. It was way too easy to locate their compound let alone hack into their sysyems."

"Tony had resistance getting in."

"Think about it. Since when does H.Y.D.R.A not have a seperate shielding mechanism?" She was right. It was strange that this was so easy._ Too_ easy.

"We need to abort. Call in the evac." Steve ordered. Nat complied.

"Guys we've been ambushed, evac is on the way." Steve announced.

"No shit Sherlock!" Tony remarked, his voice sounding strained.

"Agreed!" Thor responded while taking down an entire H.Y.D.R.A squadron.

"Tony you alright?" Steve asked over the coms. Tony just got out of the literal whole he was in and took a deep breath.

"Just peachy." Hawkeye just entered the massive room and ran to Tony. They looked around at all the boxes. They had alien technology inside, but on the outside, it read '_Medical Supplies'._

"How ironic." Tony said. Hawkeye raised his eyebrows and gave a sideways nod in agreement.

"What do you say we make some fireworks, huh? Place some explosives and watch from afar with a bowl of popcorn." Tony spoke as he walked around and inspected some of the tech lying around.

"Jarvis, scan the building and find the weakest points." Less than a minute later Jarvis downloaded the info.

"Cap, on my word you need to retreat. We're setting up a little present for our friends outside."

"Understood."

"Sir, I have the weakest points of the structure." J.A.R.V.I.S stated.

"Thanks, buddy. Clint set the bombs over there, there, there, and there. That should do it."

Hawkeye started doing just that. He took the explosives from Tony and began setting them around the room. 'How did he have these in there? What else does he have in that suit?' He wondered.

Tony came a cross something peculiar. It was an odd shaped piece. It was spherical, with four little indents evenly spaced all around it. Tony thought it was interesting so he reached for it. But, before he could grab it a bolt of white hot energy blasted him across the room. He landed on another box full of '_Medical Supplies'_. But the tech inside were weapons. One was full of spear like weapons, which nicked Tony on his left side.

"STARK!" Tony barely heard Clints voice. He couldn't understand what anyone was saying. He closed his eyes tightly. He suddenly felt as if he was floating. He could've sworn he heard a large explosion. He thought he felt it too, but when he opened his eyes, he woke up to Dr. Helen Cho looking at him dead in the face.

"Uh, hello."

"My apologies Mr. Stark. I was just examining your injuries."

"Uh, huh. Sure you were." He grasped his head as he the Doctor left the room. She must've went and got Steve because he entered only moments later.

"How do you feel?"

"Confused. Aches everywhere; You know, like a piñata would at a child's birthday party. What the hell happened back there?"

"One of their devices detonated while you were in close range. You were injured. Don't worry, just a few stitches."

"That's good to hear."

"That was a good call on those explosives. They followed us as we retreated through the building to the other side. Took care of all of them." Steve said crossing his arms over his chest.

"And the Neanderthal that double crossed us?"

"We're looking for him. You sit back and work on that data J.A.R.V.I.S downloaded. We're gonna need that client list." Tony gave Cap a mock salute, and as Dr. Cho walked back in, Steve let his smirk show just a little.

"Ok, we got the scans back, and everything looks good. Well except the cut of course." Dr. Cho studdard.

"Hm mm."

"We need to work on new training excersizes when we get back. Get some rest Tony. You'll be fine." Steve said and walked out of the room. Yeah, _fine_.

**_ONE MONTH LATER_**

"Okay, Tony, go ahead and step on the scale." Bruce was careful with his tone. He and Steve helped Tony out of the wheelchair and onto the small metal platform. They waited until Tony had a good grip on the handles before letting go. The instant Tony's hands started shaking, Steve moved to hold his hands just above Tony's waist, but not touching him. Tony would just yell in protest; they could hardly blame him.

Bruce hooked Tony up to the vitals monitor and began running the tests. He was glad the machine Tony invented could perform multiple medical tests at once. Makes it easier on Tony. After Bruce clicked a few buttons and received the information he needed, he nodded to Steve. Steve grabbed a hold of Tony and started to help him back into the wheelchair.

Pepper watched from the observation window in the next room. She had her hand over her heart nervously. She hated to see Tony like this. Tony was always this strong, protective figure in her life. It was hard to see him so... she couldn't bare thinking about it. His condition was only worsening. They all knew it.

They've had experts from around the world come in and take a look at Tony, but none found anything. They would give a diagnosis that Bruce and Dr. Cho would dismiss. Eventually they just left, at a loss. Bruce and Dr. Cho were hard at work studying his illness. If that's what it was.

"Yeah, I got it!" Tony's voice snapped Pepper out of her thoughts. She hurriedly walked into the room and stood at the doorway. He got agitated from Steve and Bruce helping him into the wheelchair. Pepper walked over and kneeled down in front of Tony. Steve and Bruce stepped aside to give them some space.

Tony's thin arm went up to hold his head in exhaustion. Pepper held his other bony hand in both of her soft ones. She didnt say a word. She just sat there with him knowing that nothing anyone said could comfort him right now.

After a moment he looked up at her with tears in his eyes. That sight made tears instantly fill her own eyes. She understood what he was trying to say; his eyes revealing everything. She knew he was in pain: physically and mentally.

Pepper stood and took a hold of the wheelchair. She leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Tony's forehead. She noticed how sunken in Tony's cheeks were and it crushed her. She could tell he lost more weight. Pretty soon he won't have any to lose.

"I've got him from here, you guys." Pepper said softly as she started to take Tony out of the room. She looked behind her for a second and mouthed a 'thank you' to Bruce and Steve.

When they had both moved out of their sight, Bruce moved back to the machine to check the results. Steve stayed still for a moment thinking about his friend, looking on as they walked into the spacious room. He was really worried about him. They had all grown a lot closer the past few years; like a family. He wished it was a person doing this so he could punch them in the face. Steve turned and walked over to stand in front of the machine Bruce was inspecting.

"This isn't good." Bruce said almost to himself.

"What is it?" Steve asked, worry clear in his tone.

"He's lost another 7 pounds. His vitamin B, his iron, all of it, they're all dangerously low."

"What does that mean? What's happening to Tony?" Bruce did that nervous tick he did with his mouth and hands. He stepped away from the machine and moved to look at the security cameras. He saw Pepper and Tony in the kicthen trying to get him to eat, didn't look like Pepper was getting anywhere.

"Bruce!" Bruce turned around to find Steve only a few feet away.

"Tony's dying."

**_TO BE CONTINUED..._**


	3. Chapter 3

The next day those in Stark tower found themselves the same as yesterday. Tony was still very sick and they were no closer at finding the cause. Bruce and Steve had left to get more supplies from S.H.I.E.L.D, and to bring in more experts. Hopefully with fresh eyes and new tech, they'd be able to get at least something.

"Tony, are you hungry? Do you wanna eat something?" Pepper asked kneeling next to him. He was tired of being in bed so she took him to the lounge area. He sat watching tv, seemingly unaffected by the program.

"Uh, I can try." He said looking at the beautiful ginger with tired eyes. Pepper rubbed his leg soothingly.

"Ok, what do you want, I'll make it." She offered.

"Hmm, I'd love a cheeseburger." Pepper smiled. That's his favorite.

"The usual? From Burger King?" He simply nodded with a hint of a smile on his face.

"I don't know that I can trust you by yourself." She joked.

"Oh, you know me Pepper, I'm a model patient." He quipped, his voice was slow with fatigue. Pepper giggled and lowered her head. She looked up at him and saw how tired he was.

"Well, since Happy is with Bruce and Steve, I'll just order it and have them deliver." Pepper said while standing.

"They won't. They're a bunch of sticklers. Besides, it'd be good for you to get out of the house for a bit. Get some fresh air; especially since you've been in an enclosed area with me for several days." Tony gave her a smile.

She knew what he was doing. He was trying to convince her that he was ok. He knew she would probably figure it out; which she did. But, he tried anyway. He hated feeling vulnerable, especially in front of Pepper.

"I don't know, Tony."

"Hey, I'm probably gonna go lay down for a while anyway. They're slower than snails down there."

"Are you trying to get rid me?" For a moment, Tony's facial expression turned very serious.

"I would never... I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, Pepper." Pepper was taken aback. She'd never heard Tony talk like that before. That made her think that whatever was wrong with him was starting to affect his mind. For a split second she was terrified of that notion. She decided she would ask Bruce about it.

"I know, Tony. I don't know what I would do if I lost you either." They sat in a moment of silence.

"Okay, let's get you into bed. You need some rest. You better stay there while I'm gone." He rolled his eyes when she wasn't looking. She definitely saw him, but she didn't say anything.

"Where did Capsicle and Green rage monster go to?" Tony asked. Pepper looked at him with wide eyes. They told Tony that they were going to report to Füry. They were gonna bring back some medical supplies and some doctors from S.H.I.E.L.D.

"They're at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. You don't remember them telling you?" Pepper asked softly, with worry clear in her voice. Tony looked at her with a confused look on his face.

"Pfft, I was half alseep when they told me." He's starting to have memory loss. Pepper knew he was hiding it. Tony'd be damned if he started losing his mind. Pepper knew it was affecting him more than he was letting on. She was definitely gonna have to tell Bruce.

"That explains a lot from this morning." She joked. Tony smiled at the quip. Pepper helped Tony get settled into the bed, and proceeded to leave. She stopped at the doorway when she heard her name.

"Pepper." She looked at Tony who looked at her with love and adoration. The expression took her by surprise.

"I love you." Pepper smiled almost immediately. He didn't do this very often so she took the moment in, savouring it.

"I love you too, Tony. I'll be back soon. Don't blow anything up while I'm gone." She jested. Tony smiled and closed his eyes.

**_ONE HOUR LATER_**

Happy dropped off Steve and Bruce at the door, then followed the S.H.I.E.L.D agents to the back to help unload supplies. Steve and Bruce carried what they could upstairs hurriedly to check on Tony. Tony would never know that Pepper had called from the taxi, as long as they didn't mention it.

Bruce and Steve took the long elevator ride to their flat in silence. They walked in and set the boxes and bags in the lab real quick and began to look for Tony.

"Tony!" Steve called.

"Pepper said he layed down for a bit." The two heroes walked to Tony and Pepper's bedroom but found no one in the bed. Bruce left to go check the rest of the complex. Steve looked around the room for a second, looking for... well anything really. Then heard the most gut wrenching sound he'd ever heard.

"Tony?" Steve started walking around. Steve heard that sound again as he neared the bathroom. He located where the sound came from and went in. He saw Tony's wheelchair on it side just outside the door. Tony was hunched over the toilet bowl emptying the contents of his stomach. But, steve knew his stomach was bare; which made it even worse.

"Tony." Steve said calmly while rushing over to Tony. Tony wreched again, not noticing Steve's presence. Steve placed a hand on Tony's back when he started to tip over.

"Whoa. Easy, Tony." Tony had stopped vomiting and was breathing very heavily. They sat there for a minute or two before Bruce came in looking for his fellow Avengers.

"Jesus. Tony, are you alright?" All Tony could do was shake his head. Bruce looked at Steve.

"Let's get him back into bed." Steve nodded and they carried Tony to the bed and settled him in.

"I'm gonna grab my kit. I wanna do another blood test." Tony didn't say a word. He just lay there his face scrunched up in pain. After Bruce was finished poking him Tony was left in the dark room. Steve and Bruce left for the kitchen. Just then, Pepper walked in.

"Hey guys." She saw the looks on their faces and her stomach plummeted.

"What happened?" She asked quickly.

"He's ok. He was throwing up when we got here. He's back in bed." Steve said, reassuring his friend. Pepper sighed in relief.

"What is wrong with him, Bruce? Do you have any idea what's happening to him yet?"

"No. But, with the tech that S.H.I.E.L.D loaned us, I'm hoping to figure it out. I've already taken some more blood samples." Steve walked over to Pepper and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Tony's strong. He'll hold on until we can figure this out." Pepper was grateful for his comforting words. She placed a hand on his in gratitude.

Suddenly J.A.R.V.I.S' voice came over the intercom.

"Miss, Potts. Mr. Stark needs some assistance." They were just about to go into the bedroom, thinking Tony was throwing up again. Boy were they wrong.

Out of the blue they saw Tony walk into the open space between the kitchen and living room. He had beeds of sweat on his brow. His complexion was grey, making his features seem even more sunken in than they were. They looked at him fearfully.

"Tony?"

"I-" Tony coughed.

"Tony what's wrong?" Pepper asked. She started to move slowly towards him.

Everything happened so fast. Tony grabbed his stomach as he threw up right then and there. Pepper and Steve rushed to Tony's side. Bruce ran around the counter ready to help. However, as soon as he rounded the corner, he saw it. Blood. Bruce alarmingly followed the three into the medical lab.

Tony was grunting in pain as they moved him onto the exam table. Pepper attended to Tony while Bruce pulled Steve over to the side. Steve looked at Bruce with a wild look on his face.

"Where did that energy come from? He's been way too weak to stand let alone walk?" Steve asked.

"I don't know. Something must've given him a jolt of adrenaline." Bruce looked at Steve alarmingly.

"What?" They spoke in hushed voices.

"Tony's getting worse." Steve's eye softened and he lowered his head.

"I need Dr. Cho's help in here." Steve got on the phone to call her in. Bruce began starting an I.V for Tony. He was breathing heavily and Pepper was brushing the sweat off his forehead with a rag that was nearby. Bruce gave him pain medication first, then a sedative.

"At this point, we've already ruled out everything that would cause all the symptoms. At least..." Bruce trailed off.

"What?" Bruce started his nervous tick again. Steve didn't like where this was going.

"Well, uh, we've ruled out everything here...on _Earth._" Steve was a little surprised. What was he talking about? Bruce went over and hooked him up to the vitals monitor.

"I need to stabilize him before we take more tests. We gotta do another MRI and CAT scan. His bleeding isn't from an injury. But, he can still turn septic if it continues."

"Septic?" Steve didn't know all these medical terms that he was used to hearing.

"Infection of the blood, where someone's own blood is poisoning them."

"How dangerous is it?" Steve asked.

"It can be fatal." Pepper wasn't a physician, but she had some medical knowledge. Bruce looked at her with sad eyes.

Steve's eyes widened slightly in shock. He looked at Tony who was slowly starting to calm down; thanks to the sedative.

"Dr. Banner?" Dr. Helen Cho entered the room in her lab coat ready to help her patient.

"Yes, okay we need an X-RAY, a CT scan and an MRI. I don't wanna leave a stone unturned." Dr. Cho looked at Bruce oddly.

"But, we've already done those tests, we-"

"Do them again!" Bruce cut her off. He didn't mean to yell. He covered his mouth and closed his eyes for a second. He looked straight at her.

"I'm so sorry. I'm just- im frustrated. I really thought we would've figured it out by now." Dr. Cho surprised him by coming closer to put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok. I understand. We _will_ figure this out." She encouraged. Bruce gave a small nod. Dr. Cho nodded and proceeded to help Bruce with Tony. Pepper and Steve stepped out of the way and watched as they took Tony to the other lab.

As they watched the two doctors wheel Tony away, they couldn't help but feel...helpless. There was nothing they could do to help Tony. They tried to make him comfortable, at least while he's going through whatever this is. But, their hope was being snuffed out by this 'illness'. Every day was a battle for Tony, fighting for his life. The toll watching that fight it took on his friends and loved ones, was enormous. But, that didn't match the toll this was taking on Tony.

Steve put a comforting hand on Pepper's shoulder. She couldn't help the tears that escaped her eyes. Steve could think of only one thing to do, so he pulled his friend in for a hug. He held on to her trying to give her comfort. He made a silent promise to look after Pepper while Tony was sick.

Later that day the other heroes joined their saddened friends at Stark tower. They had already discussed the mission, and confirmed Steve's theory that they were H.Y.D.R.A. They were successful in apprehending the agents who sold the Chitauri weapons. They took down the criminals who bought said weapons on the black market.

"So, we still don't know what's killing him?" Clint asked agitated, sounding almost harsh. He was never good with patience when it came to situations such as these.

"Not yet. Bruce is running more tests." Steve answered standing in front of the four other Avengers. Clint and Nat were sitting on the sofa near the bar, and Thor was standing across from Steve. Thor had a puzzling look on his face, apparently thinking. Nat was hunched over, her elbows on her knees.

"Steve?" She knew there was something else. She learned his tell months ago.

"Tony's gotten worse. Something caused him to vomit blood."

"How? There's no way he was thrown that hard in that warehouse. I was there." Clint argued.

"Whatever this is, it's acting fast." Nat supplies.

"What? I've seen my fair share of these cases. " She explained leaning back, crossing her arms and her legs.

"But, there is something else. Something that everyone is afraid to suggest. Steve?" Nat looked at Steve expectantly. Clint looked between the two.

"Am I missing something here?" He asked looking around the room, his arms raised in a questioning manor. Without warning Thor's deep voice bellowed across the room.

"You don't think this is from Earth." It was more of a statement than a question. Steve sighed.

"No, we don't."

"What about that Chitauri spear that cut Tony?" Nat asked.

"No, those weapons would not cause such illness. They are only crafted to draw blood." Thor shot that suggestion down. But, he was nice about it.

Pepper was watching Tony in the MRI scanner from the observation room. Rhody walked in and stood next to her. He didn't say a word at first. He just stood there. She knew he was there. She also knew that they didn't need to exchange words to know what they were feeling. They both knew Tony well and they were family. It's hard on both of them to see him like this.

"Wait a minute guys. That sphere thing Tony found, could that be doing this? I mean it did fling him across the room." Clint asked using his arms again to exaggerate Tony flying across a big room.

"...It is possible... this sphere, what did it look like?" Thor asked moving to sit on the sofa near Clint. Steve even stepped a little closer.

"It was shaped like a sphere, but it had indents in it, like that..that ball from that wizard game from those magic movies...you know? The kid with the lightning scar on his head that didn't die when he should've...?"

"Harry Potter?" Steve asked. The others looked at him.

"What? We never had movies like that back in my day. It's pretty cool."

"Ookay, well do you know what I'm talking about?" Clint asked impatiently.

"Yeah, it's called a quaffle. The indents are supposed to make it stay in the air longer, and move faster." The other two were staring blankly at him.

"Uh, hang on a second." Steve left the room for a moment or two. Nat asked Clint how he knew about the wizard movies and he whispered so low Thor couldn't hear. Thankfully Steve returned seconds later with a pad and pencil. He took a few moments to sketch out what it looked like.

"Yup that's it. Except smaller, and without the triangle. Its a sphere, dude." Clint received a glare from Steve on his criticism.

"I believe I have seen this device before." Thor spoke. His face seemed troublesome, and his voice sounded of unimaginable defeat, and sorrow.

"What is it, Thor?" Clint asked shifting to look at Thor. Steve's face was contorted into that of worry and confusion. There was a hint of saddens. Nat was waiting for an answer.

"I don't know. I was only a child when I saw it. I remember it because after I found it, I noticed that my brother got sick. I was too young to know what was happening."

"This thing affected Loki?"

"The healers in our world uses what we call a soul forge. It must be how they were able to detect what it was doing and stop it."

"So it if can almost kill a Demi God, what can it do to a man?"

"It's too hard to tell. Humans are physiologically weaker than Asgardians."

"So how do we save him?" Was all Bruce managed to say. No one gave him an answer.

**_TO BE CONTINUED..._**


End file.
